by Lex Thomas
Egmont
2012
404 pages
Chilling, terrifying, spooky, and grotesque, Quarantine is this summer's must-read! For fans of The Hunger Games and The Forest of Hands and Teeth, this novel will satisfy their appetite for all the things in life worth fighting for.
After an infected student runs into their high school, Mckinley High is quarantined by the government and the military. This is no ordinary quarantine either. The kids are on their own. No one is coming in to study their disease, no one is giving them a vaccine, no one is trying to save them, no one is feeding them, no one is communicating with them, no one is in control--no adult anyway.
It is every student for himself. The only way to survive is alone and hiding out or joining a violent rogue gang. Joining isn't all that easy, either. You have to be chosen to join. If you were a nobody before the quarantine, chances are that no popular group will ask you to join them. The jocks are a close-knit group, and the "Pretties" are the popular pretty girls who are now "safe" as well. Choose the wrong alliance and you're dead.
Food drops are havoc. Students become animals and tear into each other in order to eat. Those who are lucky enough to come away with the spoils have to protect their spoils from marauding gangs who will beat them or kill them for food.
There is no end in sight and no one is coming to save them. Brothers are pitted against brothers in this all out warfare. Alliances are made to be broken, and even the mighty shall fall.
The publisher likens this novel to "Lord of the Flies"--a good comparison--but Quarantine is way grittier and uber-fascinating--it's a study of what might happen if true anarchy entered high school. I read this book in one sitting and couldn't put it down. Co-authors Lex Hrabe and Thomas Voorhies hit the right pitch with this fascinating character study--book one leaves the reader wanting more....MUCH more! I can't wait for book two, and teenagers will be grabbing this series up.
Highly, highly recommended grades 9-up.This is a must-read. Violence, language, sexual references, skinny dipping, sex. NOT suitable for middle school.
FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.
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